Oh Yeah, I did 9 Miles Today... Nothing to it!

That was definitely a little tongue in cheek.  But, I am tired and happy.  Today we ran 9 miles. 

9 miles

9 miles!

 

9 miles!!



Can you tell I am excited?

Years ago, 11 or 12 years ago actually, I used to run 10 miles every Saturday morning after my Weight Watchers meeting. Alone.  I left the car in the WW centre parking lot and ran a loop that I had measured out,  3 times around to make up the 10 miles.  It was good as I could stop at the car to replenish my water or leave my jacket, and so on.  Then I would stretch, have a drink of water, and drive home.  My route had a service station on it, in case I HAD to have a sweet or a soda, and/or use a washroom.  Good planning, I thought, and I did that consistently for about 4 months at a time, two summers in a row.  It took me about 2 hours to run that 10 miles.  I didn't know anything about, or use, energy drinks or gels or bloks... just drank lots of water.

Fast forward to 2012 and I have not run 10 miles since those days.... mosts of my runs have fallen in the 3 to 5 mile range.... occasionally 6 but no longer.  Last Fall I did 8  miles and when we were done my left hip was so sore.... I kinda hobbled up the hill 'home' to the house we were looking after (which is next door to where we are now).  Yes the hills in this neighborhood are killer!

On our half marathon schedule, there is a 9 miler pencilled in for tomorrow... but it is supposed to pour buckets tomorrow and I didn't want to miss out on it.  Apparently The Captain didn't either as just before bedtime last night, he suggested that we get in that 9 mile run today, if the weather was decent.

We decided to familiarize ourselves with the race route.  I mapped out a 4.5 mile section along the waterfront and we planned our strategy about parking, etc. and went to sleep, my fingers crossed for good weather.

This morning I woke up at 5 o'clock and managed to stay quiet and still till almost 6 when we got up ... still kinda dark, but the day dawned blue and mostly sunny!  I went to a Weight Watchers meeting and we decided to go running after lunch...  so I made us an early lunch and we shared a nuun and got ready to go.

I packed some bananas and spread peanut butter on a couple of whole grain bagels and popped all of that into a bag.  Then I filled two-16 ounce bottles with water and nuun.  And I filled another 24 ounce bottle with plain water.  We both put a couple of GUs into our pocket and off we went.

We drove about 20 minutes to the site... and parked the car in about the middle of the 4.5 mile section I chose for us to run.  I strapped on my water bottle belt and put one bottle of the water with nuun into it and off we went.  We ran past a private school, and then a couple of parks, and through a beautiful neighborhood of huge estate home,s and then back to the car, sharing the water and nuun along the way.

It took 50 minutes to do the out and back and run back to the car, where we spent only a few seconds switching the almost empty water bottle for a full one, and carried on... past a marina, through a golf course and along the rugged shore to another residential area.  We each ate a GU as we ran along and drank more water and nuun.  It was a hillier section and it took 59 minutes to do that out and back.

The 109 minutes for 9 miles was only 7 minutes longer than it took to do 8 miles last Saturday.  I never felt like I pushed hard at all... easy loping and very comfortable. 

When we got back to the car the second time, we walked around for a few minutes, polished off the bottles of water with nuun and did a few minutes stretching... and it started to rain! It was a huge downpour so we jumped in the car and loosened our sneakers... wolfed down our bagels and bananas, drank a bit of water, and then drove home.... dry clothes, more stretching, more water,  and then a cup of coffee before I had a nice long soak in a tub of hot water and epsom salts.

I am so elated and so excited now, about race we are training for.

When we were finished running today, I felt a bit tired but really good, and I know I could have easily gone another couple of miles.  I think the GU made a big difference in the amount of energy I finished up with, and I know the water and nuun tablets are helping.

I want to thank each and every one of you who read my last post asking for advice about my training schedule.  I read all of the comments and really thought about them and and have decided to keep to my plan if I can.  I have a better understanding now of why those Monday and Wednesday runs are getting longer, and also that it is OKAY for me to be tired after I run longer on Saturdays.  I was worried about that, but after the advice you gave me, and reading about how some runners take naps after they run longer, I now realize I probably SHOULD be tired!  And that I will get used to being on my feet longer.

I appreciate your taking the time to help me, advise me, and most of all, encourage me, in this effort.  It's a wonderful feeling.... thank You so much.